With all the talk about stats being higher than ever it’s important to note that this is a fairly recent phenomenon, so much so that the over-30 group of active stars didn’t benefit from it after leaving their physical prime
But what would their best seasons look like by 2023 statistical standards?
Let’s start off with their actual numbers(relative TS% is how much their TS% above league average at the time):
| PTS | REB | AST | rTS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 LeBron | 26.8 | 8.0 | 7.3 | +10.5% |
| 2016 Steph | 30.1 | 5.4 | 6.7 | +12.8% |
| 2014 KD | 32.0 | 7.4 | 5.5 | +9.4% |
The league average TS% so far this season is 57.5%. From this, we can now assign TS% values to each player by current standards:
| PTS | REB | AST | TS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 LeBron | 26.8 | 8.0 | 7.3 | 68.0% |
| 2016 Steph | 30.1 | 5.4 | 6.7 | 70.3% |
| 2014 KD | 32.0 | 7.4 | 5.5 | 66.9% |
Now, we have to adjust for pace. The pace in 2013 was 92.0, in 2014 was 93.9, and in 2016 was 95.8 compared to the 99.3 pace of today. Multiplying LeBron’s volume stats by 99.3/92.0, KD’s by 99.3/93.9, and Steph’s by 99.3/95.8 gives our final totals:
| PTS | REB | AST | TS% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 LeBron | 28.9 | 8.6 | 7.9 | 68.0% |
| 2016 Steph | 31.2 | 5.6 | 6.9 | 70.3% |
| 2014 KD | 33.8 | 7.8 | 5.8 | 66.9% |
The stat inflation is also a result of increased usage of the top players
In 2013, Lebron’s had a usage% of 30.2, which was the 5th highest in the league.
That same usage would tie for the 17th highest usage in the current season.